Hi everyone, I am back among the living and work has resumed on the Jimmy. Things are moving forward with re-assembly. It isn't cheaper than teardown, rust repair or bodywork but it is much more satisfying to start to see things back where they belong.

I went over for a visitation this morning as work is progressing and I had some parts to drop off. We are getting very close to a major milestone, engine restart. The wiring is now about 90% complete, all engine components are in place save for the radiator, and all fuel and brake lines are good to go. I had the gas tank pressure tested and it is back in save for the filler neck.

My 3 bibles have been a godsend during re-assembly. Now that the wiring is close to completion the next steps are to install all of the remaining HVAC equipment, ducting and controls and then start hanging the doors, tailgate and fenders to check for correct gappage. We are heading for paint although not as quickly as I thought.

I also hauled quite a few parts over for Project Checkbook 2, which will not start until the Jimmy is back on the road. I have been squirreling parts away for it as they come up, including a set of bucket seats with console, a new driver side door, a Cheyenne tailgate, replacement grille, rebuilt tilt column, a set of 8 X 15 steelies, etc. etc. Hopefully I will thank myself later for doing this.

Continuing progress on the center of the dash. I now have my gen-u-wine Delco AM radio and hard-to-find original hi-fi speaker in. A board member came up with a very rare deluxe throttle knob assembly for me which now completes the matching set of control knobs on the instrument panel. I am interpreting the key in the ignition as a hopeful sign that engine restart is imminent.

Look what came back from the plater yesterday! Been gone so long I had nearly forgotten it was still out there for a makeover. It was a true (and expensive) ordeal finding someone who could/would work on an aluminum piece this big.

Although the truck is going to be pretty much bone stock save for Hickey add-ons and luxury items such as stainless fuel and brake lines, I abhor the raccoon look of 1971-72 GMC grill surrounds. I told the plating shop to clean up and plate the entire surround. If some future owner is an originality freak then some blue tape and a can of matte black Rust-O-Leum will quickly ease their pain.

Wow !! I can only imagine what that cost to plate.Is it re anodized or is that actually chrome? You will have to handle that grille like egg shells if it's chrome. Let us know how it fits after all that work has been done to it. Looks great !!

It's alive! Went over this AM and heard it run for the first time in 1 1/2 years. The doors have been hung and are being gapped and the HVAC installation is now complete. The guys in the shop ran it around the yard this week to test steering and brakes and all went well. The radiator was sent out for pressure testing and reinstalled along with the new R-134 compliant AC condenser.

Now that painting is imminent (!) I am moving on the interior of the Jimmy. It was a big day today - I stopped by the restoration shop and picked up the front and rear seats, door panels, console and visors. They are now all at the upholstery shop where teardown will soon begin. My original rear side panels are a mess and I am going to replace them.

I got prices on replacement seat covers, door and rear side panels and carpeting from the board vendors as well as a couple of big catalog vendors. Prices are all over the place so I am still mulling over where to order.

My one do-it-yourself piece of the interior is making over my leveling mats. I had one or two reusable ones in the Jimmy and got 3 others from Harry Huda. All of them were filthy and cracked to varying degrees. I scrubbed them down, glued the cracks up with airplane glue and contact cement, and then gave them two coats of hand-rubbed Armorall. No one will ever see them again once the carpet is in place but I tend to fixate on even hidden parts. Here are a couple of before and after shots.